A Level Digest March 2023

A good book: The Silk Roads: A New History of the World , 2016, by Professor Peter Frankopan

This book was recommended to me at Strictly RE this year. I bought it that very weekend and I have not regretted it. It is excellent for any religion you are teaching on the A level specification and it is also useful for those sections focusing on Philosophy of Religion and Ethics. It really helps you situate some of the main philosophers and also the emergence and development of the world’s religions. For example, I was fascinated to learn more about how the spread of Greek ideas under Alexander the Great influenced the development of Buddhism and also how the political climate at the time of Muhammad and certain elements of his teaching enabled this faith to spread throughout the Middle East and beyond. I love the way it has helped fill in the gaps in my understanding that I did not even know were there and how more synoptic links can be made between various elements of the courses that I am teaching at A level. It’s a good read not only for teachers but also for students.

Interesting research: The Religious Population of the World 2060, by Conrad Hackett and Marcin Stonawski

I really enjoyed reading this report. It links nicely to those units focusing on the impact of secularism as well as so many other courses you may be pursuing lower down in the school. In short the report argues that religious believers will grow in number by 2060 although the amount of people in these faiths will vary in different countries throughout the world (with some places seeing more growth than others). It also claims there will be a growth in those who identify as having no religious affiliation. A useful summary of this report can be found on the RE:ONLINE page given below. There is also a link to the complete piece on this page, if, like me, you want to go beyond the main headlines. I would really recommend that you look at this full report as there is a lot of useful information that you can use in the classroom.
RE:ONLINE source: The religious population of the world, 2060 – RE:ONLINE (reonline.org.uk)

A good website: The Philosophy Cat

This website was recommended to me recently and, although I have only just begun to explore, it is proving helpful. There are sections dedicated to pretty much all of the topics covered in the Philosophy and Ethics sections of the A level and there is another focusing on Christian Thought. I have started to explore the ethics one and in particular Situation Ethics. I really like the variety of resources as there are recommended videos, a key word test, detail of the various aspects of the theory including the criticisms and a quiz. I am going to recommend this to my pupils as another revision resource.
The link to the website with a focus on Situation Ethics is: Situation Ethics | philosophycat

A good listen: The Ramayana, In Our Time, Radio 4

I always love listening to In our Time on Radio 4 and this recent episode did not disappoint. It would be useful for not only those of you teaching Hinduism at A level but also for the GCSE and if you explore this great story at KS3. I loved the way it helps to set the scene for how the epic emerged, going further back in time to discuss the socio-political changes that were occurring in India and beyond which can be seen within the story. For example, it discusses the influence of the movement from a more rural way of life to the emergence of urban cities and large towns. Make sure you listen to the extra section after the episode finishes as here the invited guests discuss what other things they would have liked to have spoken about if they had had more time. On the website there are some suggestions for further reading as well. The link to the episode is here: BBC Radio 4 – In Our Time, The Ramayana

Rachael Jackson-Royal is head of department of RE and is the exams and higher education officer on the NATRE executive.